Oil purifier for internal-combustion engines



Oct. 22, 1929. s. 1. FEKETE :ET AL OIL PUfiIFIER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTIONENGINES Filed Oct. 23, 1924 INVE FUI Ei:

Patented Oct. 22, 1929 UNITED sTA'ras PATENT OFFICE STEPHEN IVAN FEKETEAND STUART G. BAITS, OF DETROTT, AND HOMER M. NORTH- RUP, OF GROSSEPOINIE PARK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNORS TO HUDSON MOTOR CAR COMPANY, OFDETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN OIL ZPU'RIIFIER.v FORINTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Application filed October 23, 1924. SerialNo. 745,379.

Our invention relates to mechanism for preventing the accumulation ofunvaporized fuel in the lubrication oil of an internal combustion engineby removing any such unvaporized fuel as fast as it is deposited inthelubricating oil. The principal object of the invention is to providemechanism which will maintain the lubricating oil of an internalcombustion engine in a cool condition and free from any dilution due tothe result of condensation of a portion of the fuel in the engine,thereby maintaining uniform lubricating conditions in the engine and themaximum lubricating power of the oil.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, crank case dilution is oneof the most troublesome problems confronting the automotive engineer.New lubricating oil, as it is put into a motor, is a comparatively thickviscous'fiuid having high lubricating properties. If'diluted withgasoline or kerosene, it becomes thin and watery and rapidly loses itslubricating qualities so that the wear on moving parts'isincreased and,if the dilu tion is suflicient, the burning out of the bearings, or anyother dangerous conditions may result. It is also well known that inrunning a cold engine and in starting and warming up a cold egine,unvaporized gasoline and particularly the so-called heavy ends of thefuel pass the piston rings and drain into the lubricating oil, therebydiluting it. This dilution takes place very rapidly, particularly incold weather. In fact, it is not uncommon to find a dilution in excessof twenty-five per cent after a car has been run five hundred miles,even with new cars of high grade and of excellent; workmanship.Accordingly it has been the practice of automobile manufacturers torecommend that the crank case be drained and the oilreplaced by freshlubrieating oil after every five hundred miles. This, of course, causesconsiderable expense to theowner, and, as is more important, thechanging of the oil is neglected with consequent injury to the workingparts of the enne. i l i I Th apparatus comprising our inventionprovides simple effectual means for removing th'e vaporized fuel fromthe lubricatingoil in the crank case, cooling the oil after theunvaporized fuel has been removed and returning it again to the crankcase in condition to be most effective in lubricating the working partsof the engine. The device includes no moving parts or valves andtherefore is simple and reliable. The arrangement pumps oil directlyfrom the sump or lowest chamber in the crank case to a chamber where itfalls upon a plate, heated to the proper tempera-.

ture by the exhaust gases, which distils off all unvaporized fuel andany moisture which may have accumulated in the oil. After this the oildrains into a cooler where it is cooled to a temperature suitable foruse for lubrication and then it is restored to the crank case. The pumpordinarily employed to circulate the oil in the engine circulates theoil through the refining apparatus, and therefore no complications areadded to the structure.

The invention will be fully understood from the following descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novelfeatures thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claimsat the close of the specification.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of an automobile engine towhich is applied the oil purifying apparatus embodying our invention.

F ig 2 is an end view of the essential parts of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a detail of the construction of the upper part of thevaporizing chamber.

In the drawings at A is shown a cylinder block of an engine of standardconstruction, the crank case is shown at B and the oil pan at G. Thisoil pan has a sump or lower compartment D and troughs, one of which isshown at E, in which the ends of the connecting rods, not shown, dip tosplash the oil, the lubricating system shown being of the type known asa circulating splash system. The oil is circulated by an oil pump Fwhich draws oil from the bottom of the sump D and causes it to bedelivered into the guide G, which directs it over a sprocket wheel H andchain I.- The oil which falls down from the sprocket wheel H and chain Iaccumulates w. Ea

in the bottom of the housing J and thence flows as shown at K into thetrough E from v which it is circulated to the successive troughs by theaction of the several dippers secured to the connecting rods, not shown.The foregoing parts merely illustrate one well known type of automobileengine to which our invention is directly applicable.

- zo'iinders. The oil from the pipe 12 drops directly on the highlyheated inclined surface 14 and the gasoline, kerosene, or other heavyends of fuel which are vaporizable are imme- .diately vaporized, as.suggested by the arrows in Fig. 1. At 16 (see Figs. 1 and 3) is shown anair passage closed by a screen which connects the vaporizing chamber 18with a box 17, surrounding the exhaust manifold Land connected by thepipe 18. Fig. 2) with the intake of the carburetor. The vapors which aredistilled off from the lubricating oil escape through the passage 16into the air stream, flowing to the carburetor (not shown) and thusenter the engine.

It will be observed that the surface 14- constitutes a short steeplyinclined plate-like element exposed continuously to the heat of theexhaust gases, and along which the oil may gravitate. at a speed whichis propon- 'tioned to '(1) the heat of the surface and (2) the viscosityof the O1l. Moreover, the surface is so disposed and formed that the oildoes not accumulate in a body thereon, but when dropped from the pipemay assume a drop-like or globular form, or if extremely thin, becauseof dilution, spread out into a film, thereby tojreceive the full effectof the heat. It will be understood that in apparatus of this character,it is necessary that the oil be heated sulliciently to vaporize the fueldiluents therein, but not suilieiently to break up the'oil itself. Thisobject is effectively accomplished by a heated surface of plate-likeform, on'which the oil does not accumulate in a body or stream, butfreely gravitates therealong in drop-like or film form.

In devices heretofore provided, the regulation'of heat has. beenaccomplished by the provisionof a separate heating system or element, asdistinguished from direct use of the exhaust manifoldor a wall of thelatter, as in the construction above described. Moreover, in suchdevices, it has been customary to regulate the amount of-heat bymanually or thermostatically operated Valves which direct a greater orless proportion of the hot exhaust gases from the manifold to theheating element, in order to maintain in the heating element a constanttemperature irrespective of the temperature of the engine. We havefound, however, that such control is unnecessary, and that with aconstruction such as described, it is practicable to rely upon the heatof the surface and the viscosity of the oil as the controlling factors,providing the oil is not accumulated in a body of considerable depth.Therefore, it is possible to eliminate these controlling mechanismswhich add complexity to the power plant. It has been found in theoperation of this system that due to the steep incline of the surface1%, the contact of the oil with the surface is; very brief, but due tothe fact that the oil is exposed to the surface in a thin film ordrop-like form, this period of subjection of the oil to the heat issuiiicient to vaporize the fuel diluents. It will be understood that thethinner the oil and the hotter the surface, the more rapidly will theoil pass, by gravity over the surface.

It will be observed, furthermore, that the oil is dropped in asubstantially vertical plane upon the surface adjacent its upper end andunless the, oil is extremely thin, it will travel along in drop-like orglobular form, and will not remain in contact with thesurface for suchtime which would cause the oil itself to break up. 7

After passing from the vaporizing chamber 13, the purified oil flowsinto a spiral trough 19 in a cooler 20, which is preferably constructedfrom aluminum on account of its high conductivity. The cooler 20 and itscover 21 are both provided with cooling fins 22, to increase theradiation. The cooler is preferably located immediately behind the fanof the engine so that the incoming stream of cool air will play directlyon the oil and reduce its temperature as much as possible. After thepurified and cooled oil passes down through the cooler it is conveyed bythe pipe 23 to the guide G and returned to the circulating system of theengine as previously described.

From the foregoing description of the devices embodying our invention,it will be seen. that all vaporized fuel present in the lubricating oilis removed in'the vaporizing chamber, and that the oil is thoroughlycooled and will have recovered its viscosity before being reintroducedinto the oil lubricating system of the engine. It will also be seen thatthe system is free from moving parts, valves, control devices and thelike, so that the operation of the device will be continuous as long asthe, engine is running, and, furthermore, that it it not likely to getout of order in operation. Another important feature of the invention isthat itpurifies all the oil in. the system and removes any unvapo'rized.fuel which has reached the sump, and does not, as do some devicesalready devised, merely purify the oil vapor in the crank case orcylinder.

What we claim is:

1. In combination with an internal combustion engine, an exhaustmanifold therefor, a chamber heated by said exhaust manifold, an oilpump drawing oil from the sump of the engine and delivering it to saidchamber, a box enclosing said chamber and manifold, said chamber havinga vapor outlet communicating with said box, a carburetor air intakecommunicating with said box, a cooler communicating with said chamberand receiving oil therefrom, and return connections delivering the oilfrom the cooler to the lubricating system of the engine.

2. In an internal combustion engine having a lubricating system, anexhaust manifold provided with an integral wall the outer surface ofwhich is inclined and forms the bottom of a chamber, said wall beingexposed continuously to the full heat of the exhaust gases in themanifold, means for withdrawing oil from said system and directing thesame upon the upper end of said inclined surface, said surface beingdisposed so that the oil may gravitate down the same withoutaccumulating in a body thereon at a rate so of flow proportioned to theintensity of the heat of the surface and to the thickness of the oil,and a return connection from the lower end of said surface to saidsystem.

3. In an internal combustion engine having a lubricating system, anexhaust manifold provided with a wall, the outer surface of which isinclined and forms the bottom of a chamber, said wall being exposedcontinuously to the full heat of the exhaust gases in the manifold,means for withdrawing oil from said system and dropping the same uponthe upper end of said inclined surface, whereby the oil may gravitatedown said surface at a rate of flow proportioned to the intensity of theheat of the surface and to the thickness of the oil, said surface beingsubstantially plane whereby the oil dropped thereon may assume adrop-like form and unimpededly and without accumulation gravitate alongsaid surface, and a return connection from the lower end of said surfaceto said system.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

STEPHEN IVAN FEKETE. STUART G. BAITS.

HOMER M. NORTI-IRUP.

